In particular, smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain could be
used in NASA’s SensorWeb program,
which develops an interoperable environment for a diverse set of satellite
sensors. Artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies could be
further integrated to make space-based sensor networks more efficient and
responsive.

In September, NASA awarded a $333,000
grant to University of Akron (UA) Assistant Professor Jin Wei (also known
as Jin Kocsis or Jin Wei Kocsis) to research how to make space hardware smarter
and more autonomous. This is an important requirement for deep space missions,
where the communication lag makes it impossible to monitor and telecommand
space probes in real time. Deep space probes, and planetary missions such as those
by the Mars rovers, must be equipped with onboard AI for autonomous operation.

“I hope to develop technology that can recognize environmental
threats and avoid them, as well as complete a number of tasks automatically,”
said Wei. “I am honored that NASA recognized my work, and I am excited to
continue challenging technology’s ability to think and do on its own.”

“To meet this requirement, this project intends
to develop a resilient networking and computing paradigm (RNCP) that consists
of two essential parts: (1) a secure and decentralized computing infrastructure
and (2) a data-driven cognitive networking management architecture,” reads the
RNCP summary. “Furthermore, we will evaluate the performance of our proposed
RNCP in various space communication environments.”

A high-level project
chart reveals that blockchain technology plays an important role in the
RNCP concept. Other key technologies and approaches are software-defined
networking, deep learning (a branch of AI), fuzzy logic, game theory and
contract theory. Besides the main goal of supporting NASA’s space missions, the
RNCP project wants to contribute to the development of next-generation
computing infrastructure.

“Such technology could be critical to the next few decades of
space exploration,” noted Futurism. “With
NASA currently planning missions to distant worlds like Alpha Centauri and
beyond as soon as 2069, unmanned spacecraft that can think and react
autonomously to their surroundings could ensure our ability to gather
information far from our terrestrial home.”

Rocket Fuel
for Industrial Applications

ETHNews
interviewed Thomas Kacpura, advanced communications program manager at NASA’s
Glenn Research Center. According to Kacpura, RNCP research will rely on the
Ethereum blockchain. The project will likely have important implications on
NASA’s space networks and may eventually impact the private sector as well.

“The objective here is the application of blockchain and
distributed intelligence to our space and ground network communication assets,”
said Kacpura. “If successful, the overall objective will be to incorporate Dr.
Wei’s research in our overall portfolio to ultimately optimize our
communication networks."

It’s worth noting that the smart combinations of blockchain
technology, AI, sensor networks and software-defined networking technologies,
which NASA will study and develop, could be reused in emerging sectors such as
self-driving cars and the Internet of Things (IoT). Therefore, NASA’s RNCP
project could also enable important industrial applications.